I haven't sat down to read what everyone else is saying, because I wanted to form my own thoughts and opinions (I know! How terribly liberal of me). I finally made it to see DREAMGIRLS this afternoon with my sister, but before we were able to see the movie, we had to sit through about twenty minutes of nothingness, as the staff at the movie palace realized there was a problem and then had to correct it. My guess is something went awry with the tape and it had to be rewound or something -- do they do that in this day and age?
Anyhow. Jennifer Hudson is a yawn. She's an amateur way up there on the silver screen with the stunning Beyonce and the silent killer, Anika Noni Rose. This is supposed to be about this group of girls who are talented and rocket to stardom, right? Well, no wonder mister Curtis Taylor Junior fired her -- not only was she late all the time, but she didn't have the moves, the look, the voice, the style, the panache, or the raw skills to make it. And I can't understand how these award voters are being blinded.
The reason DREAMGIRLS was a smash on Broadway was because of the venue. This is a stage musical. It was written that way and should have stayed that way. It's the reason these big blockbuster musicals aren't transfering to the big screen -- because they're not meant to. We desperately want to applaud when Effie stands up to Curtis (and at my showing, one young girl did vehemently, to the annoyance of everyone around here), but it's not appropriate in a move theatre because ... and this is the big thing I realized today folks ... we're not applauding something that may have taken a dozen tries from several angles over a couple days to get right, and then fix and style in the editing room over months. When we want to applaud, we want to applaud the performance of a lifetime. Watch Jennifer Holliday sing the song (1982 Tony's or later in her career). It's breathtaking. There's nothing like it. Because it's real, it's live, it's in the moment. There's no one else there except her to share this very real and true moment with us the audience. On screen, there are a dozen to a hundred people neatly packaging the whole thing and sending it to us. That's not what broadway musicals are about.
CHICAGO made the transfer and did it brilliantly. RENT didn't. THE PRODUCERS didn't. Even SINGIN' IN THE RAIN didn't make the transfer to the stage. It was written as a Hollywood musical and should stay that way.
Anika Noni Rose was the best one up there, because she is from Broadway. She knew exactly what to do, how to play the role, sing the songs, act the act, and do it right. She was just so sweet and in the pocket, but unfortunately she's in the smallest of the roles.
[here: Original Lorrell, GREY'S ANATOMY's Loretta Devine] What would have helped the situation would have been the use of the 2001 concert cast (Lillias White as Effie, Audra McDonald as Deena and Heather Headley as Lorrell -- although, I'm still hardpressed to replace Rose with Headley). That cast also included Norm Lewis (Broadway's current Javier), Shoshana Bean (WICKED's Elphaba), Adriane Lenox (of DOUBT fame and a standby on CAROLINE, OR CHANGE where she worked with Rose), Brian Stokes Mitchell, Malcolm Gets, Alice Ripley, Emily Skinner, Brad Oscar and Sara Ramierz. Although, still, I think they work best in the recording and on the stage rather than if they had been shipped off to Hollywood and stuck up on film.
And, the cinematography. CRAPOLA. It looked like some failing frosh film fudgebucket finangled his way behind the camera somehow. It's awkward and strange, a poor turn from the guy who was the director of photography on FREE WILLY 3. The choreography (Fatima Robinson) is flat and lousy, too. Thank goodness they were wise enough to bring in tried-and-true team of Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhower to do the lighting. At least they knew what they were doing.
It's too bad about all of that, but that's the way it is. Go see it though, the music's kick-ass. And then you'll know what's what when the mount a national tour in the next year or so [my gut tells me they've just got to!].
"What a way to start a concert, saying yes..." From there, Ms Minnelli goes on for an hour or so, rememberizing about her pivotal turn as herself in the Kander-Ebb-Fosse created LIZA WITH A Z. I got the collector's edition DVD for Christmas. It's brilliant. She's a hoot.
